First Contact
by Dark Aria
Summary: A series of missing scenes from the books showing how some of the characters first meet. Starting with the brothers.
1. First Contact

_I had an idea of a series of oneshots of how some characters from the Cal & Niko Leandros series first met (the ones who meet 'off-stage,' of course.) The first one is my take on the birth of Cal. Warning: ends with sappiness. ;)_

OOOoooOOO

Niko was four when the scary man came to see his mother after dark. It was late and the man wore a big coat and wide brimmed hat, but Niko could see that he had long white hair and his eyes sparked like a cat's, only red. His mother had already been drinking for a while, and normally she would have slammed the door on the man, but he flashed a shiny ring in front of her face to get her attention. Sophia's quick fingers flickered as she took the ring from his hand. As she stepped aside, she noticed Niko peeking around his bedroom door.

"Get your ass back in bed!" she snapped. Niko shut the door and jumped back under his covers. He was scared, and tried to listen for a while. He heard his mother's soft, purry voice and the stranger's grating hiss going back and forth for a little bit. And then the front door shut again.

The next night Niko was sent over to stay with their neighbor Mrs. Halverson. His mother marched him over there and stood on the woman's doorstep, asking her to watch her son for the night, saying she had to go to the next town over to care for a sick friend. The older woman stared at Sophia for a moment, her mouth tight, until she glanced down at Niko. Then her mouth softened and she nodded. Sophia dropped Niko's hand and walked away. He watched her over his shoulder; he was afraid the white haired stranger would take her away for good. Then Mrs. Halverson patted his shoulder, and led him inside. They had a nice dinner at the table, and she found a book to read to him. When it was bedtime, she made up the couch with sheets and blankets, and everything smelled good, like soap. Even though the lady was very nice, Niko could not stop thinking about his mother. Would she come back for him at all? Mrs. Halverson seemed to understand, and as she tucked him in, she reassured him that his mother would be back tomorrow. Niko wondered if she knew Sophia was fibbing about the friend.

The next morning their neighbor fed him breakfast and walked him back to their house. She knocked on the door, and then opened it. They walked in to find Sophia lying on the couch, one arm over her eyes like she was sick.

Mrs. Halverson asked, "How's your friend?" She didn't look very nice when she said it.

"None of your damn business," his mother growled, not moving her arm.

The other woman sighed, and knelt down to face Niko. "If you need anything, honey, I'm right across the way, okay?"

He nodded. "Thank you," he said seriously.

The next few days, Sophia barely moved from the couch, like she was sick. Niko tried to take care of her by bringing her glasses of water and sandwiches, but she was real mean. Eventually she started moving around again, and one of the first things they did was go to a crowded little store that had everything in it, from radios to jewelry to swords. As Niko wandered around the store looking, his mother argued with the owner who sat in a wire cage. Sophia brought out a bunch of jewelry and coins, dumping them on the counter. She and the man argued a long time about them, until finally he took most of it and gave her a lot of dollar bills in exchange.

That summer Sophia seemed happier at first, and for once they had plenty of money. Sophia often gave him money and told him to go out and buy himself lunch. Even at his age, Niko understood she wanted him to stay out while she read people's cards. But after a while she started to have stomachaches, and sometimes threw up in the morning. And her belly started to get big. An older boy in the neighborhood told him that meant there was a baby growing in her stomach, and soon she'd have to go to a hospital so the doctors could take it out. Niko was happy at the thought of having a little brother or sister, but Sophia didn't seem to be. As her belly got bigger, she got madder. But Niko thought she might be scared, too. The scary man came back twice, and each time Sophia yelled at Niko after he was gone.

They moved after the second time, with his mother loading up the car the next morning and telling Niko it was time to go. They drove for days, and then weeks. Sophia had plenty of money, but they always stayed in dirty motels and left really early in the mornings. Then came the day when Sophia's belly really started to hurt. They were in a rural area with only a small hospital available. Sophia checked herself in, and for hours Niko waited in the hall and listened to his mother scream and curse. Nurses stopped by to reassure him and make sure he'd been fed and taken care of. Once he went to use the bathroom, and on his way back he heard lots of people talking and laughing in one of the other rooms. He peeked in and saw a woman lying back in bed, cradling a tiny baby. The father had his arms around them both, and there were some older people and children in the room. Everyone was admiring the baby and congratulating the parents. Niko crept away and took his seat again outside his mother's room.

After nightfall he finally heard a baby cry, and Niko had to sneak to the doorway to look. He couldn't see much because people were in the way, but he did see a tiny, wet baby being placed on Sophia's belly, and he saw her make a sour face and look away. The nurses were cooing over the baby's pearly skin and soft black hair.

"Like Snow White, only he's a boy!" one of the women exclaimed. The others laughed.

I have a baby brother, thought Niko with awe. He wrapped his arms around himself.

Later that evening Niko watched carefully as an older nurse changed the baby's diaper. Another nurse was writing on a clipboard.

"Where did the mother go?" asked the first nurse.

"Outside, to smoke a cigarette." The note-taking nurse was younger. She was frowning like Mrs. Halverson. She continued on, "What sort of a name is Caliban, anyway? Is it a gypsy name?"

"It's from Shakespeare," the older woman answered. Something about how she said it made Niko wonder if it was a bad name. But then the baby started to make fussy noises. "He's hungry. I'll make some formula."

"Probably a good thing he won't be breast fed. I've never heard of 80 proof mother's milk," the younger nurse snorted with amusement.

"Sally," the older woman snapped, glancing at Niko. "Why don't you take those papers to the desk now?"

She shrugged and walked away. As the nurse mixed the formula for a bottle, she smiled nicely at Niko. "What's your name, hon?"

"Niko, ma'am."

"Aren't you the polite one? Well, Niko, would you like to feed your baby brother?"

He nodded his head quickly.

"Alright, then. Sit down in that chair with your legs crossed. Good. Now I'll just settle him in there, and you'll need to support his head like so. Mind you don't drop him."

"I wouldn't!" Niko said, drawing up with all the indignation a four year old could muster.

"No, of course not, dear. Now take the bottle and make sure he latches on good and firm. There he goes. Your brother is strong."

Niko nodded, staring down at Cal (he didn't want to use the longer name in case it did mean something bad.) Unlike Niko's own blond hair, he had a patch of thistledown as black as their mother's. His skin was supersoft, and pale white, unlike his own olive skin. His head was a little pointy. The nurse told him most newborns look like that, but it would get better. He thought about the happy family he had seen earlier. Here in this room it was just Niko and the soft, heavy weight of his baby brother. The only sounds were the occasional paper turn as the nurse wrote things down, and the little snurtling noises Cal made around the bottle. Niko suddenly felt warm inside for the first time ever. He knew then that this was what it would be like for them forever: the two of them together against the world. Suddenly he wasn't lonely, either. He made a silent promise then that he would always look after Cal.


	2. The Ninth Circle

_Here we go again: This time it's how Cal got his job at the Ninth Circle, and his first meeting with Ishiah. Any details about Robin and Ishiah are mere speculation on my part, of course. Enjoy!_

OOOoooOOOoooOOO

"You lost another job?" Robin said, his eyebrows rose at Cal. "This has to be some kind of record for you. You worked at this new place for all of … what? Three days?"

Cal was sitting at the coffee table in his & Niko's apartment, polishing their knife collection. His brother was standing in a cleared out space, slowly moving a sword through katas.

"I didn't lose it. I just decided I probably shouldn't go back in case the cops came around wanting a statement or something."

"What did you do this time? Break some poor bastard's nose again?"

"No," Cal said irritably. "Those useless bouncers let some guy in with a gun. He went over to a table to finish a fight that had started at another bar, and so I decided to stop things before they got out of hand. I guess no one expected the new guy to be able to handle a table full of drunks."

Niko glanced over and sighed. "Of course, another school of thought might say there was some overkill involved."

"Nobody died. And considering 2 more guys at the table were armed, I'd say I did a pretty good job. Everyone's a critic," he grumbled.

Niko just shook his head and went back to his slow-motion dance of death. "And the fact that you liked the barmaid had nothing to do with it. You do tend to find ways to lose your job before you get attached to people."

Cal felt the heat in his face. "I don't do attachment," he muttered.

Robin sat up and rubbed his hands together. "What you need is a job where you can fit right in, the clientele are less delicate and can handle your serving style, and there's no danger of you falling for any of the staff. I have just the place in mind!" He grinned like a shark, a sure sign he was planning mischief for someone.

"It can't be too rough. I don't want Cal facing biker gangs and dealers every night." Niko frowned at the puck.

"By rougher I meant paranormal, not human," Robin waved away Niko's concern. "Cal, remember the peri bar we stopped by?"

Cal looked skeptical. "The one where you don't like the owner?"

"Well, Ishiah's a moralizing pain in the ass at times. You should be used to that by now, right?" he smirked. "I'll put in a good word for you."

"Will that help?"

"Oh ye, of little faith. Go clean the metal polish off your hands and face and we'll go down there right now."

Cal glanced over at Niko. "Right. I guess it couldn't hurt. I'll be back later. Don't wait up, schoolboy."

So he cleaned up, put on some jeans without holes, put his hair back in a ponytail, and came back out. As they tread down the stairs, Cal had to ask, "So asking this guy to hire an auphe – I mean half-auphe: are you getting back at him for something?"

"Tsk. Cal, you sell yourself short. I think you'll make a valuable addition to his team."

Cal sighed. "So that would be a yes, then."

It was a quiet afternoon in the Ninth Circle, at least until Robin Goodfellow and Cal Leandros came in. Robin strolled up to the bar like he owned the place. The dark-winged peri currently serving looked surprised, but came over.

Before he could speak, Robin waved an imperious hand. "Tell Ishiah I want to speak to him, would you?" He made it sound like he was royalty granting the owner a long awaited audience.

The peri glanced at Cal and back to Robin. "Sure. But he's a little pissed about you walking out without paying the last time you were here."

"Put in on my tab. Along with the bourbon you're about to pour me." Robin sat back and surveyed the bar with a smirk.

As the peri walked away, his wings twitching, Cal whispered, "I thought you were going to put a good word in for me, not get me thrown out on my ass with you."

"Relax, Caliban. No reason we can't have a little fun while we're here."

Danyeal knocked on his boss's door. At Ishiah's welcome, he stuck his head in. "You're not going to believe this. Robin Goodfellow's out there and he says he want to speak to you. And that half-auphe kid is with him again."

Ishiah's wings unfurled and nearly hit the opposite walls. He pressed his hands flat on the desktop. "Is he…are they together?"

Danyeal shrugged. "Doesn't look like it. You want me to throw them out?"

Ishiah frowned, running a finger along the scar on his face. "No. I'll be out in a moment."

When Ishiah came out in a couple of minutes, he paused in the doorway to observe the puck and his friend. Robin had appropriated a bottle of his best bourbon when Danyeal had come back to tell him of the puck's prodigal return. He was already a third of the way into the bottle and showed no signs of slowing down. The young man had glanced up as soon as he appeared, his gray eyes catching Ishiah's movement in the doorway. He had heard rumors of this one from the kin who came in to drink. Some said he had killed his former employer, Cerberus. Some said he had killed and ate him. The kin were spooked about this child. The stories about the auphe were legend, and didn't come close to the full extent of the reality. Still, at the moment he just looked like a young man watching Robin drink and pontificate with tolerant amusement. Only the quick tilt of his head and unconscious liquid grace betrayed his unnatural heritage. And Robin looked relaxed. Ishiah had heard some unusual rumors about Robin recently as well. Ones that involved heroic acts in addition to the usual orgies and drinking marathons.

Ishiah walked over and stood behind the bar, arms folded as he scowled down at Robin. But his wings were out and fanning slightly, betraying his inner turmoil. "You had better be paying for that."

Robin beamed up at him, like an especially naughty imp. "There you are. Ishiah, I want to introduce you to a friend of mine, Cal Leandros." He draped an arm around Cal's shoulders. "Cal here is currently looking for a job, and I thought you could hire him."

"Did you?" he swung his baleful gaze to the dark haired young man sitting next to Robin.

Cal Leandros looked him in the eye and said, "I have lots of experience tending bars, and it's not like the customers here will bother me. The only thing is, I work under the table."

Ishiah kept up his scowl, trying to see if he could unnerve the young man. Instead he just waited out the peri. Finally Ishiah sighed in annoyance and then turned to wave Danyeal over. "I'll try you out on a provisional basis. Danyeal, get Caliban an apron and show him around. We're going to see how he works out tonight. And yes, I'm serious."

Robin slapped Cal on the back triumphantly. "You see, what did I tell you? Now why don't you get me something from the kitchen?"

Cal stood and with an amused snort slid a bowl of peanuts down the counter so that it stopped in front of the puck. "Enjoy. Let me know how else I may be of excellent service to you, sir."

Robin's eyebrows v'ed in irritation. "I'll tell you how you can be of service…"

"Save it, Loman. I'm working."

As Cal followed Danyeal away, Ishiah savored the irritation on Goodfellow's face and he felt a corner of his mouth twitch. A moment later, he listened in as Cal took his first order from a couple of werewolves.

"You. You killed Cerberus," grunted the male of the pair. His ears were pulling back, hackles raised.

Cal nodded non-chalantly. "He was a lousy tipper. You going to order something or not?"

Ishiah winced and gave the puck a sour look. "I've heard some dark rumors about that young man, Goodfellow…"

Robin laughed. "Relax. Cal's fine, as long as you can stand all the melodrama. Maybe you can give him some pointers there, hmm? Well, I'm off. My good deed for the day is done, and I've got a five o'clock that can't be missed. And a nine o'clock." He waggled his eyebrows, daring Ishiah to ask for details. The peri did not. He watched in bemusement as Robin Goodfellow walked out of his bar, and back into his life.

Danyeal came and stood next to Ishiah. "Did I just hear him say something about his good deed for the day?" Danyeal asked in disbelief.

Ishiah nodded slowly. "It seems even Robin Goodfellow may have changed, if only by a fraction."

Danyeal scoffed. "Right. You realize he just walked out without paying again, and took the bottle with him?"

Ishiah looked at the counter, and back at Danyeal. "Get back to work," he snapped.

"Sure, boss. Whatever you say."


	3. A Promising Beginning

_This was my entry for the writing contest over on Tumulus in May '09. This takes place before Nightfall. One note: I remember Cal was for a while trying to go by his full name Caliban, which Niko refused to call him. I figure Niko used a variety of tricks to get Cal to accept that. ;)_

oooOOOooo

**A Promising Beginning**

The doorbell chimed and Promise heard her maid answer it. That would be the bodyguard she asked Fletcher to send her this evening. She had made it very clear he would not send another like the ex-professional wrestler from last time, and Fletcher swore up and down he had just the man for the job. At least this one was prompt. When she walked out into the living room, the young man was standing in the foyer. She was pleasantly surprised by his neat appearance and relaxed yet ready stance.

He nodded politely to her. "Ms. Nottinger."

She handed off her cloak and he held it out for her. "Mr. Fletcher neglected to give me your name."

"Please, call me Niko."

He opened doors for her and did all the things a gentleman would; yet he managed to stay in the background. That was a neat trick for an olive-skinned man with a trim body and long blond braid who stood over six feet tall. He was extremely alert, and adept at guiding her away from trouble-makers in public without seeming to do so. As a centuries old vampire, Promise could handle the riff raff herself. The woman she was living as would not be able to do so, however. Besides, what was the point of having wealth if not to hire others to manage the tedious affairs of life?

Although Promise was careful to not hire the same bodyguard too often, she asked for Niko periodically after that night. She liked his competent reserve. One evening on the way home from the opera, Promise mentioned that the charity ball she was attending next month was going to be a very large event, and she may need to hire an extra person to assist Niko.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I have a brother, who works with me sometimes."

Promise lifted one graceful eyebrow. "Oh? Then I would like to engage the both of you for the evening of October second."

When the night came, she heard the brothers as they approached her door. Her superior hearing picked up the sounds of Niko lecturing his younger brother.

"Now remember: be polite and stay in the background. We'll take turns covering Ms. Nottinger and circling the room. You know the drill. And keep your attention on the job, not the hors d'oeuvres. For one night, pretend you're a professional."

"Yeah, yeah, grandma. No sucker punching the hoi polloi, even if they do deserve it, and no blowing my nose on my sleeve. I got it."

"Good."

Promise covered her surprise well when she greeted the Leandros brothers at the door. Caliban had his brother's gray eyes, but there's where the similarities ended. The young man had blue-black hair and very pale skin. Where Niko was calm with the air of a relaxed predator, Cal seemed energetic and barely able to stand still.

Niko nodded towards the younger man standing next to him. "My brother, Calvert. Although he prefers to be called Cal."

Niko was completely straight-faced, but given the brief, annoyed look his Cal shot him, Promise wondered if Niko wasn't teasing. All his brother said however, was, "Sure. Cal's fine."

Cal was an efficient guard, and Promise was privately amused when, during the gala, he 'helped' one of her overly enthusiastic admirers out of the main ballroom by surreptitiously using a martial arts hold on his wrist.

As they were leaving the charity event, an odious little reporter who had been trying to do a story on her tried to approach as Niko was holding out her wrap. As Niko performed the little chivalry, he gave a sharp glance over to Cal. Promise caught a glimpse in a window's reflection of Cal casually tipping the reporter over a railing into some rose bushes. As she said goodnight to the hostess, she managed to overhear Cal muttering to Niko, "What? It was a gossip columnist. It's not like I kicked a dog, or anything."

Promise made sure to tip them when they arrived at her door. Niko tried to refuse, but she was so graciously persistent he had to accept. After she closed the door, Promise listened to their retreating footsteps.

She heard Niko give the smallest of martyred sighs. "Alright, so how many of those petit fours did you steal?"

Cal piped up. "Four of the chocolate, and two caramel. I would have snagged some tofu/wheat grass ones for you, but they ran out fast. I gotta say, for once helping you baby-sit a rich person didn't suck out the ass."

"_Cal_." Promise could just see the stern older brother look of disapproval.

"What? She can't hear us. Besides, I like her. She's definitely one of your sane clients. Oh, yeah, that reminds me. Have you picked out a leather codpiece for your next assignment with Glenda Glamstein?"

There was a distinct hollow thunking sound, followed by Cal's muffled yelp. She heard the door to the stairwell open and close, their footsteps gone.

Promise smiled. High praise, indeed. She liked Cal, as well. And Niko, well, he was interesting. Perhaps now that her fortunes were secure, she could engage in more personally gratifying pursuits. It was something to consider.


End file.
